1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to welding apparatus and, more particularly, to a welding arm assembly which provides remote control of the position of the welding gun.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For high temperature welding guns, it is necessary to control the movement of the gun, and thus the welding operation, remotely from the gun itself. In order to achieve this, there have been previously known welding devices to permit the welding control of the welding gun position remotely from the welding gun itself. These previously known devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,953, entitled Welding Electrode Holder and Guide, issued Sept. 9, 1980, U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,409 entitled Welding Apparatus issued Jul. 30, 1985 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,387 entitled Welding Device, issued Jul. 24, 1962.
These previously known welding devices, however, have not proven wholly satisfactory in operation for a number of reasons. In some cases, the welding device fails to easily provide complete and accurate control of the position of the welding gun by the operator. Generally, these previously known welding devices have failed to provide movement of the welding gun along a sufficient number of axes in order to allow the operator to accurately and rapidly control the position of the welding gun.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known welding devices is that the control of the welding gun can only be achieved at a single operator position remote from the welding gun. In certain situations, however, it is desirable for the welding operator to control the position of the welding gun from a position closer to the welding gun itself. Such close control of the welding gun position is desirable where highly accurate welding is desired.